CLAL Faculty
Rabbi Irwin Kula, CLAL President
Known as both a provocative religious leader and a respected spiritual
iconoclast, Irwin Kula has inspired thousands nationwide using Jewish wisdom
in ways that speak to modern life. A renowned thinker, teacher, and rabbi,
he is the author of Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life
(Hyperion, Sept. 2006) winner of a “Books for a Better Life” award, and
selected by Spirituality & Health magazine as one the “10 Best
Spiritual Books of 2006” and was featured in a national public TV pledge
special, “The Hidden Wisdom of Our Yearnings.” A leader of religious
pluralism, Kula says that the “freedom and openness of America invites us to
bring our traditions to the marketplace of ideas. The challenge is to
translate these wisdoms into accessible American idioms that inspire and
improve our personal and public lives.”
A regular on NBC-TV’s The Today Show, and co-host of the popular
weekly radio show, Hirschfield and Kula, airing on KXL in Portland,
OR one of the top 25 markets nationwide, Kula offers a perspective often
missing in the media. Named by both Fast Company magazine and
“Religion and Ethics Newsweekly” (PBS) as one of the new leaders shaping the
American spiritual landscape, he was ranked two years in a row (no.8, and
no.7, respectively) in the “Top 50 Rabbis in America,” in Newsweek.
In 2004, he wrote and was featured in Time for a New God, an
acclaimed documentary shown at film festivals nationwide. Filmed as a moving
monologue along the beaches, wharves, and roller coasters of Coney Island,
he offers religion as a “giant tool box” for personal and social
transformation. In 2003, he hosted a first-ever 13-part public TV series
produced by JTN Productions, “Simple Wisdom with Irwin Kula,” using Jewish
wisdom to explore such life issues as relationships, money, work, and sex.
Kula is the President of CLALThe National Jewish Center for Learning and
Leadership, a leadership training institute, think tank and resource center.
A popular media spokesperson, he has appeared on “The O’Reilly Factor” (Fox
News), was a repeat guest on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” and was featured on
“Frontline” (PBS) on the anniversary of 9/11, among many others. A panelist
for the Washington Post/Newsweek ─ On Faith online column, he was a
regular on the Hallmark Channel’s New Morning show.
A nationally recognized educator and lecturer, Kula serves as a consultant
to both corporate and family foundations, as well as to religious and
philanthropic institutions and non-profit agencies on leadership development
and institutional change. A sought-after speaker, he has worked with such
luminaries as the Dalai Lama and Queen Noor on compassionate leadership, and
has traveled and taught Jewish wisdom in places as diverse as France, Italy,
Bhutan, and Rwanda. He is in great demand by leaders from such diverse
fields as business, technology, relationships, and religion.
Kula is the co-editor of The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices: CLAL’s
Guide to Everyday & Holiday Rituals and Blessings (Jewish Lights, 2001),
and co-founder of the Aitz Hayim Center for Jewish Living in Chicago. He
received his B.A. in Philosophy from Columbia University, his B.H.L. from
the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTSA) in NY, and his M.A. in
Rabbinics and Rabbinic Ordination from JTSA. He has served as rabbi of
congregations in St. Louis, MO; Queens, NY; and Jerusalem, Israel.
Email: ikula@clal.org
